Hollysys announced that it has recently won contracts with a total value of approximately $48.6M. One is to provide to the Henan section of the Zhengzhou-Wanzhou High Speed Railway a comprehensive set of highway signaling products including Train Control Center, Temporary Speed Restriction Server, and Lineside Electronic Unit with a total value of approximately $10.4M. The other is to provide 98 sets of Automatic Train Protection for high-speed trains in 300-350km/h covering equipment, system and relevant service packages, with a total value of approximately $38.2M.

Hollysys upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. JPMorgan analyst Karen Li upgraded n Hollysys Automation Technologies to Overweight while lowering her price target for the shares to $24 from $26 following last night's Q3 results. The company's rail segment outlook is improving while industrial automation demand is more resilient relative to peers, Li tells investors in a post-earnings research note. The analyst sees Hollysys' order flow in its rail transportation segment improving over the next 24 months.

Hollysys CFO Herriet Qu resigned from the position due to personal reasons, and the company has appointed Steven Wang as the new CFO effective June 28. Prior to joining Hollysys, Wang served as CFO and Vice President of Xinhua Lian Investment, a subsidiary of a top 500 company in China. From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Wang worked at various managerial positions at Globe Specialty Metals and Zhonglian Zhongke, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed company.

Stocks opened in negative territory with the early weakness attributed to a rise in interest rates and a mixed earnings report from Dow component Home Depot (HD). There was little impact from the day's economic reports, including a better than expected report on manufacturing as well as the housing market index. The selling pressure remained as the day progressed, as investors booked profits after the market's recent run-up. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., retail sales rose 0.3% in April, matching economists' consensus view. The Empire state manufacturing index bounced 4.3 points to 20.1 in May, which was better than expected. Business inventories were flat in March, with sales up 0.5%. A housing index kept by the National Association of Home Builders rose one point to a reading of 70 for May. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Home Depot slid 1.6% after softer seasonal sales impacted by weather caused the home improvement giant's revenue to miss expectations in the first quarter. Of note, Home Depot's same-store sales growth of 4.2% in the quarter came in below the company's full-year forecast for same-store sales to rise 5% compared to last year... Boeing (BA) noted that the World Trade Organization issued its final decision in a case brought by the U.S. and the aircraft maker, stating that "the WTO has determined the EU must end its unfair business practices and remedy the ongoing harm caused by the illegal subsidies." Boeing added that the ruling "clears the way for the United States Trade Representative to seek remedies in the form of tariffs against European imports to the United States [that] are likely to total billions in duties per year, unless and until Airbus addresses the illegal subsidies it received from European governments for its most recently launched airplanes"... Tesla (TSLA) shares were 2.7% lower after Reuters reported that the car maker plans to temporarily halt production at its California factory for six days at the end of May to work on fixes to its assembly line for its new Model 3 sedan. Additionally, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas made significant cuts to his near-term and long-term auto margin forecasts and cut his price target on the stock down to $291 from $376... SQM (SQM) shares rose 2% after Reuters reported that China's Tianqi Lithium is close to a deal to acquire a 24% stake in SQM for roughly $4.3B. Tianqi is set to sign an agreement to buy the SQM stake from Nutrien (NTR), pushing ahead despite Chilean government opposition to a transaction with a Chinese company, the report noted. Nutrien finished the day about 2% higher following the report as well. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Hollysys Automation (HOLI), which rose 13% after its Q3 report prompted upgrades of the stock at Citi and JPMorgan. Also higher was Valeant (VRX), which gained 3.6% after Mizuho analyst Irina Koffler upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Among the notable losers were Vipshop (VIPS) and Agilent (A), which fell a respective 20% and 10% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 193.00, or 0.78%, to 24,706.41, the Nasdaq lost 59.69, or 0.81%, to 7,351.63, and the S&P 500 declined 18.68, or 0.68%, to 2,711.45.

Stocks opened in negative territory, putting the Dow's eight-day win streak in jeopardy. Some of the weakness is attributed to the pressure from Dow component Home Depot (HD), which is falling following its Q1 results. While its shares have recovered slightly, the averages remain under pressure at midday. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., retail sales rose 0.3% in April, matching economists' consensus view. The Empire state manufacturing index bounced 4.3 points to 20.1 in May, which was better than expected. Business inventories were flat in March, with sales up 0.5%. A housing index kept by the National Association of Home Builders rose one point to a reading of 70 for May. In Asia, China's retail sales growth of 9.4% fell short of the 10% growth expectation, though industrial production growth of 7% was ahead of expectations. The Eurozone GDP numbers for Q1 were inline w/expectations. In Europe, the second estimate of the EU's statistics agency showed that the eurozone's GDP expanded by 0.4% in the first quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, in-line with the preliminary estimate. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Home Depot have slid about 1.5% after softer seasonal sales impacted by weather caused the home improvement giant's revenue to miss expectations in the first quarter. Of note, Home Depot's same-store sales growth of 4.2% in the quarter came in below the company's full-year forecast for same-store sales to rise 5% compared to last year... Boeing (BA) noted that the World Trade Organization issued its final decision in a case brought by the U.S. and the aircraft maker, stating that "the WTO has determined the EU must end its unfair business practices and remedy the ongoing harm caused by the illegal subsidies." Boeing added that the ruling "clears the way for the United States Trade Representative to seek remedies in the form of tariffs against European imports to the United States [that] are likely to total billions in duties per year, unless and until Airbus addresses the illegal subsidies it received from European governments for its most recently launched airplanes." MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Hollysys Automation (HOLI), which rose 13.5% after its Q3 report prompted upgrades of the stock at Citi and JPMorgan. Also higher was Valeant (VRX), which gained 3.5% after Mizuho analyst Irina Koffler upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, saying that adjusting individual product growth estimates has made her more constructive on Valeant's turnaround story. Among the notable losers was Tesla (TSLA), which slipped 3% after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas made significant cuts to his near-term and long-term auto margin forecasts and cut his price target on the stock down to $291 from $376. Also lower were Vipshop (VIPS) and Agilent (A), which fell a respective 19% and nearly 9% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 212.00, or 0.85%, to 24,687.41, the Nasdaq was down 69.14, or 0.93%, to 7,342.17, and the S&P 500 was down 20.78, or 0.76%, to 2,709.35.

HIGHER: Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), up 7% after the stock was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Chardan... Symantec (SYMC), up 3% after the company hosted a belated Q&A call and the stock was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies... Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI), up 10% after submitting its new drug application to the FDA for Roclatan eye drops. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Hollysys (HOLI), up 5%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Home Depot (HD), down 3%... Agilent (A), down 7%... Vipshop (VIPS), down 16.5%... Switch (SWCH), down 10%. ALSO LOWER: Tesla (TSLA), down 3% after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas made significant cuts to his near-term and long-term auto margin forecasts for Tesla and cut his price target on the stock to $291 from $376.